Local Leadership: Alistair Leathwood

Chief Commercial Officer, Asia Pacific

Alistair is IRI’s Chief Commercial Officer for the Asia Pacific region, covering Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Korea. In this role, he is responsible for driving growth across the region, overseeing the management of client relationships and playing a pivotal role in the delivery of services and IRI’s ability to meet the needs of clients. As part of the IRI executive team, Alistair also works closely across the whole organisation in the ongoing identification of client requirements and opportunities, development of new offerings and roll out of innovative products and services.

Prior to joining IRI, Alistair held the role of Executive Director for Australia with Kantar TNS (part of the Kantar Consumer Insights Group within WPP). He was responsible for leading the Kantar TNS team through five successful years of growth, including winning the Best Agency Award in 2017. Before making his way to Australia from the UK, Alistair spent eight years with Datamonitor as Global Consultancy Director of the Technology Business Unit, and seven years with FreshMinds Research (now Decidely) as Managing Director.

With a research and strategy career spanning 20 years in the UK, US and Australia, Alistair has demonstrated his experience in helping businesses to grow. He has managed multiple client engagements, using a wide range of marketing, research and consultancy techniques to address central business questions of portfolio management, brand development and positioning, market entry, and product and service innovation.

Alistair has worked across a broad range of sectors including technology, retail and consumer products for some of the world’s largest and most recognised brands and companies, as well as numerous small fast growing and entrepreneurial businesses.

Alistair is a regular speaker and commentator on technology, the retail landscape, and consumer behaviour and is a passionate advocate of the need for companies to embrace innovation.